Work-supporting structure and protective means for furnaces and the like



, W. A. MORTON Feb. 3, 1948. WORK-SUPPORTING STfiUCTURE AND PROTECTIVE MEANS FOR FURNACES AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 11, 1942 INVENTOR Wllliam AMoJ'ton W. A. MORTON Feb. 3, 1948.

WORK-SUPPORTING STRUCTURE AND PROTECTIVE MEANS FOR FURNACES AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

azzzr INVENTOR WLZZiamA.M0J"t0Jz OR FURNACES AND THE LIKE Feb. 3, 1948. w. A. MORTON WORK-SUPPORTING STRUCTURE AND PROTECTIVE MEANS F Filed Dec. 11, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 3, 1948. w, MORTON 2,435,362

I 4 INVENT'OR Allforton Patented Feb. 3, 1948 WORK-SUPPORTING STRUCTURE AND PRO- TECTIVE MEANS FOR FURNACES AND THE LIKE William A. Morton, Mount Lebanon, Pa., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Manufacturers Trading Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application December 11, 1942, Serial No. 468,730

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to work-supporting structure and protective means for furnaces and the like. It relates more particularly to worksupporting structure for supporting work while the work is subjected to high temperatures and to protective means for thermally protecting the work-supporting structure.

For purposes of explanation and illustration the invention will be described as embodied in a vv'orlosupporting structure and protective means for use in a furnace for heating work such as billets and slabs. Billets and slabs prior to hot rolling are heated to a temperature in the neighborhood of 1800 to 2400 F. and should be heated rather uniformly throughout, which requires subjecting the work to a high temperature for a substantial period of time. The work should be supported in the furnace in such a way that it can be introduced and removed without difliculty and so that it Will receive the desired heat treatment while in the furnace. It is customary to heat billets and slabs by moving them more or less continuously, or intermittently, through the heating furnace. For example, the work may enter the heating furnace at one end and be pushed through the furnace and ejected at the opposite end. To facilitate such movement of the Work through the furnace while the work is being heated it is customary to use what are known as skids. These ordinarily take the form of elongated metal supports like rails or pipes disposed in more or less parallel relationship spaced somewhat apart so that the work spans the space therebetween. Any desired number of skids may be used.

The skids may be and preferably are spaced somewhat above the bottom of the furnace so that as the work passes through the furnace it is heated from below as well as from above and from the sides. This ordinarily entails mounting of the skids somewhat in the nature of beams, that is, without continuous vertical support. The work which is supported by the skids is heavy and the skids are preferably made heavy enough to satisfactorily support the work but not so heavy but that they are subject to some deflection as the heavy work passes thereover, it being borne in mind in this connection that the temperature in the furnace is such that the work is heated to red heat, the tendency also being to heat the skids to red heat. In order to prevent the skids from being heated to so high a temperature that their structural properties are lost it is customary to cool them. Skids are commonly made tubular in .form and a cooling fluid is passed therethrough. Ordinarily such cooling fluid is water. However, the cooling of the skids is undesirable from the standpoint of the work as the relatively cool skids tend to absorb heat from the work. To counteract this tendency it has been customary to apply an insulating coating to the skids to cover and protect them from the heat of the furnace, but leaving the upper or work-engaging portions of the skids exposed. It has been customary to make the skids in the form of pipes having round rods welded to the outer surfaces of the pipes, the rods being disposed uppermost when the skids are in place in the furnace, cooling water being circulated through the pipes. The rods serve as the work-engaging portions of the skids and the billets, slabs or other shapes to be heated rest upon the rods and are pushed through the furnace While so resting. Efforts have been made to protect the pipes forming the under or base portions of the skids against the heat of the furnace while leaving the work-engaging rods sufficiently exposed to engage the work.

Great difiiculty has been encountered in providing satisfactory means for protecting the skids from the heat of the furnace while leaving the work-engaging portions thereof sufficiently exposed to engage and support the work. Since normally the work-engaging portions of the skids are the upper portions it is necessary in most cases that the protective material not coversuch upper portions. Attempts have been made to apply protective material in plastic or pasty form, but due to the difficulties imposed by the operating conditions these attempts have not satisfactorily solved the problem. In order to make the protective material stay in place it has been proposed to weld to the outside of the pipe rivetlike pins as shown, for example, in Patent No. 2,022,649. It has been proposed to pack or embed the protective material between the pins and about the skids so as to cover all of the skids except the work-engaging top portions thereof. However, the protective material when thus applied remains loose and friable and the shocks and vibrations to which the skids are subjected in use cause the protective material to crack and fall off. Moreover, the cost of welding the pins to the skids is high; also such pins absorb substantial quantities of heat from the work, thus impairing the effect sought to be obtained by the protective material.

I have solved the problem above explained and have provided a work-supporting structure and protective means obviating all of the disadvanfrom the skids preformed protective means which 1 cover the major portions of the skids below the work-engaging portions thereof, Preferably the preformed protective meansfiengag'e the skids throughout limited areas ppilyj q that relative movement between the skids and such protective means is provided for without imposing on the protective means stresses due to-deflection o'f the skids themselves. Preferably the protective means are disposed in sections or units abutting each other longitudinally of the skids but otherwise unconnected, this. construction further facilitating relative movement between the skids and the preformed protective means and between the sections of the preformed protective means. In one 'form of the invention I applyplastic protective material to the upper portions of V the preformed protective means, but such plastic protective material is vertically supported and is not subjectto any considerable extent to fall- I ing 'ofi as'in the cases of the prior structures above referred to. 1 preferably form the preformed protective means so that such means may be applied laterally of the skids as distinguished fromlhaving to be applied endwise thereof, and 'to this end each section or unit of the preformed protective means preferably comprises a plurality of membersadapted to be assembled upon application to a skid to form a protective devicegenerally-in the formof a split ring with the work-engaging portion of-the skid exposed through'thesplitof the ring.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as thefollowing description of certain present preferred. embodiments thereof proceeds.

-In the accompanying drawings I=have :shown certainpresent preferred embodiments of the inventionrin which Figure '1; is a fragmentary plan view of a skid having protectivemeansapplied thereto, the skid per se beingcut away at-a portion of the structureand the protective means at a portion of thestructure being shown. in horizontal cross section taken-on the line I-I'ofFigure 2;

Figure 2 is a central :vertical longitudinal crossesectional view taken on the :line II-II of i ur 1;

Figure 3 .is a vertical transverse cross-sectional view taken 'on'the line IIIIII of Figure 1;

Figures 4 and'5 are perspective :views of two ofthe fourpreformed shapes which are adapted to cooperate and be-held together to form a section or unit of the-protectiveimeansas shownin Figures 1, 2 and .3;

Figure'fi is afragmentary plan view, similar to Figure 1, of -a skid having protective means of modified construction applied thereto, the'skid per seand'the protective material applied on top of-the structure in plastic formbeing cut away at a portion of the structure;

Figure -'7 is a central vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view "taken ion-'the' line VII'VII of Figure 6';

4 Figure 8 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line VIIIVIII of Figure 6;

Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 are perspective views of four preformed shapes which are adapted to cooperate and be held;'t,bgether to ;forni a section or unit of the protective means as shown 7 in Figures 6, 7 and 8;

Figures 13 and 14 are perspective views, the

- former similar to Figure 9 and the latter taken at a; diifereritlfangle for clarity, of protective means of a further modified construction comprising only two preformed shapes which are adapted to {cooperate and be held together to 7 f rm. a :se ctiqnwr I unit of the protective means; and r a Figure '15 'isa fragmentary bottom plan view showing tt'wo 'sectionskor units made up of shapes as shown in Figures 13 and 14.

" Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 tab, inclusive, there is provided a skid comprismg 'a pipe' land around 3 extending parallel thereto at 3a F-i'gure 3) The'skidthus formed is adaitlted fio' be eifiplaced in' a h'eating furnace in ':more or less paiallel relationship to one or more sii'riilariiskids to provide "supporting means for work adapted to ba -passed throughthe' fur- :nace. Sirice the arra'rlgeirient 'of sl1h skids in a heating furn'ace and-the furnace construction-it *self are known and" do not-per se' 'constitute the present invention they are not shown. 'The present invent'ion isconcerned primarilywith the work-"supporting structure including a worksuppoitingmember' having preformed protective means' app'lie'd thereto and with the improved protective means. l he protective means in the '-form shown in Figures l to I5, inclusive, comprises sections -or units each ma'de-up of'fo'ur preformed shapes held together by a locking member as will presently be described. "The shapeswhich'-are held together by the locking 'member' %to'-' form each section 1 or unit are 'd'esigna'ted' respectively by reference nu merals -4," 5, -24'and 25. "The locking members are designated -'by, reference numeral li, there being one lockingn'iember in each section or-ulfit. Ihe

shapes 4, 5, 24 and "'25 are adapted to be assembled about the skid and 'dueto the sec'tional'con structi'on of-the preformed-protective meansthey may be applied latferally of the-skid -as distin; guishedfrorhhaVlhg-to be applied endwise there of. Theishapes band "5 'a-re adapted tobe-dis- "posed with their'opposed iaces 4a'and Min-abutting rela'tionship as shown 'in" Figure 3*and'the shapes 24 and 25 are adapted to be s'imila'rly' dis posed. Each crane-shap s "5, 24 and 25' has move-1 mrmea m-cae'tr its end faces- B. the 'shapes are assembledasshownin thej-draw ings the grooves l of *the"four' shapes 5 5 Mend 25 of ea'ch unit"cooperate tofform ssubstantiaiiy on each skidreaclisectionassuming generanythe form of a split ring and having substantially smooth end faces (designated by reference numeral 28 in the form shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive) lying approximately normal to the axis of the skid. Adjacent protective sections preferably have their faces abutting but are free to move relatively to one another upon deflection of the skid.

Likewise, each of the preformed protective sections is preferably carried by the skid at relativelylimited areas of the skid as shown in Figure 3. Each of the shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25 has a generally radially projecting portion H] adapted to engage the upper portion of the pipe 2 laterally of the rod 3 as shown in Figure 3. The remainder of each of the shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25 is more remote from the axis of the pipe than the portion H3 so that a space I l is provided between the pipe and the preformed protective means about the lower portion of the pipe. By reason of the limited area of engagement between the preformed protective means and the work-supporting member or skid the skid and such protective means are free for relative movement upon deflection of the skid without imparting to such protective means stresses incident to such deflection.

When the shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25 are assembled about the pipe 2 as above described and as shown in the drawings they are held together by the locking members 6, which are inserted transversely of the skid into the grooves 1. The lock-v ing members 6 as shown are of substantially square cross section and are elongated transversely of the skid and are of such length and have their ends so shaped that when they are inserted into the grooves 1 their ends will lie flush with the outer surfaces of the shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25, as shown in Figure 3, thus providing a substantially smooth continuous exterior surface on the protective means. As shown, and as mentioned above, the grooves 1 of the four shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25 of each unit cooperate to form a substantially closed transverse passage of square cross section of such size as to easily receive one of the locking members 6. v

The preformed protective shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25 and the locking members l5 may be of any suitable material, as, for example, molded refractory or insulation material having sufficient mechanical strength to maintain the integrity of the protective section when they are applied to the skid and held together as above described. The shapes and locking members may be sintered or bonded by burning in a kiln or they may be otherwise formed. An air setting bonding compound 12 completely fills the spaces between the locking members 6 and the passages formed by the opposed grooves l in which the locking members are positioned. Such air setting bonding compound may also be used to cement together at their opposed faces 8 the longitudinally adjacent shapes 4 and 24 and 5 and 25 of each unit or section. However, the end faces 28 of adjacent sections are not cemented or otherwise fastened together but simply abut end to end so that adjacent sections are free for relative movement upon deflection of the skid as above explained.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 12, inclusive, there is shown in Figues 6, 7 and 8 a skid which may be identical to the skid shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and which comprises a pipe 2' and a round rod 3'. The protective means in the form shown in Figures 6, '7 and 8, the individual elements of which are shown in Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12, comprises sections or units each made up of four preformed shapes, These respectively, by reference numerals 4', 5', 6' and I. They are adapted to be assembled about the skid and, similarly to the structure of Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, due to the sectional construction of the preformed protective means they may be applied laterally of the skid as distinguished from having to be applied endwise thereof. The shapes 4" and 5 are adapted to be disposed with their opposed faces 4a and 5a in abutting relationship to form a sub-section of preformed protective means generally in the shape of a split ring but until such sub-section is assembled with the'subsection comprising the shapes 6 and I it cannot of itself maintain its integrity. Likewise the shapes 6' and 'I' are adapted to be disposed with their end faces 6a and'la in abutting relationship to form a sub-section of preformed protective means. generally in the shape of a split ring but until such sub-section is assembled with the sub-section comprising the shapes 4 and 5' it cannot of itself maintain its integrity. Each of the shapes 4' and 5' has a groove 8 in one side face, as clearly shown in Figures 9 and 10, and each of the shapes 6 and I has a projection or tongue 9 in one side face, as clearly shown in Figures 11 and 12. When the shapes 4' and 5' are assembled with the surfaces 4a and 5a abutting, the grooves 8 form a continuous groove in the sub-section comprising the shapes 4' and 5'. Likewise when the shapes 6' and I are assembled with the surfaces 60, and la abutting, the tongues 9' form a continuous tongue in the sub-section comprising the shapes 6 and I. The composite groove thus formed in the one sub-section and the composite tongue thus formed in the other sub-section areof the same shape and positioned so that when the, two sub-sections are moved toward each other axially of the skid the tongue of the sub-section comprising the shapes 6' and 1' will enter the groove of the sub-section comprising the shapes 4' and 5. Conveniently the tongue and groove are circular with their centers at the axis of the pipe 2'.

The integrity of the protective unit comprising the shapes 4', 53,6 and I is maintained after such shapes are applied to the skid and assembled as above described because the tongue 9 of the shape'l'enters the groove 8 in both of the shapes 4 and 5 and because the groove 8 in the shape 4' receives the tongues 9' of both of the shapes 6' and I. In other words, the tongue 9 of the shape 1 crosses the joint between the shapes ,4 and 5' and the groove 8 of the shape 4' crosses the joint between the shapes 6' and 'I'. This results in the formation of a self-contained protective unit adapted to be supported by the skid but to maintain its own integrity. The shapes 4', 5', 6' and I have generally radially projecting portions [0' corresponding to the portions ID of the shapes 4, 5, 24 and 25 and a space I I is formed between the pipe and the preformed protective means about the lower portion of the pipe corresponding to the space H shown in Figure 3.

After the preformed protective means of Figures 6 to 12, inclusive, have been applied to the skid as above described additional protective means in plastic form is preferably applied upon the upper surface of the preformed protective means and the upper surface of the pipe 2' at both sides of the rod 3' and also against the lower and side portions of the rod 3' as shown at 12 in Figure 8 so that the only portion of the skid which is exposed is the top of the rod 3'.

shapes are designated,

The material I 2' lies upon avertical support?pro vided by the preformed protective means-=and' the upper portion of the pipe and there is no substantial danger of its falling ofi'.- Thema terial of the plastic proteotive'me'ans I 2 is-pref' erably an air setting bonding compound which maybe the same as the compoundil i shown in Figure 3.

The shapes 4', 5', 6 and] of each protective but simply abut-end to end and are free for relative movement upon deflection of" the skid.

Preferably the upper surfaces of the protective units are somewhat rough to assist in receiving and retaining the protective material lz applied hereto. Such protective material also extends into the recessbetween the upper portion of the pipe 2 and the lower portion of the rod'-3 which further assists in maintaining it in place.

Figures13 to 15; inclusive, showa modified form of structure in which; a section orunitof preformed protective meanscomprisestwo pre-- formed shapes which are adapted to cooperate to form such section or unit. A shape M is shown in Figure 13 and azcomplementaryshape l5 isshown in Figure14. These-shapes" M-and lia're adaptedto beapplied laterallyto the skid pipe and to be assembled with each other to fzorm a self-contained protective unit. The shape Mi is ofexactly' the shapewhich would be obtained by permanently assemblingin their proper cooperative relationship: the shapes 4- and" 6' shown in Figures 9 and-1'11, respectively, and the shape. I5 is of exactlyfithe shape which 'WOIIld b obtained by permanently assembling in their propercooperative relationshiprtheshapes 5 and 1! shown in .Figuresl'o and 12, respectively. The shape. has .a groove' t'd and the-shape Ii -hasa tongue I1. When the shapeszareassembled-the tongue I1 offtheshape fi enters 1the.-groove-|6 of. the shape 14 wherebythe integrity ofthemnit is maintained.

Theiorms shown inthedrawingsare simply examples of .a wide. varietyoi forms which the sections orunits may .take. 'While'I haveshown and 1deScribed Icertain present, preferred embodiments ofi'theinvention it isicompr'isedlofaapreformed shapes to be distinctly understood that.the inventionfis not limited thereto but. maybe otherwise varie.

ouslyuemb'odiedwithin.the scope of the follow;-

ing claims. 7

I: claim: 1. Work-supporting gaging portion exposed to engage'work supported by said structure, theupper surface of the '.struc ture at opposite sidesof the .work -engagingapore tion having plastic protective material applied; thereto.

2. Work-supporting structure comprising an elongated work-supporting member having a work-engaging portion and preformed protective means disposed generally. about the work-sup; porting member toprotectthe'same but with thework-fengaging portion exposed to engagework supportedby said structure, the'protective means being in' sections disposedsubstantially end'toend longitudinally of the work-supporting mem-- her, which sections are relativelymovable upon:

fiexure ofv the work-supporting member.

3. Protective "means comprisingcooperating generally annular interfitting portions, each of said portions (comprising a plurality of parts, the interfitting of. saidportions-maintaining the parts .of each thereof assembled:

4; Protective. means comprising" members disposed in circumferentially'abutting non-interengaging relationship .to form a hollow protective portionand Lother memberssdisposed 7 in cir cumferentially' abutting. non-interengaging re-- lationship to form 'a second hollow protectiveportion,' said portions having together.

MORTON. EFERENCES CITED The following references are of record'in the file of this patent UNITED TAT-r news structure. comprising: an elongated vwork-supporting member disposed: to;

interengaging means whereby all. .of .saidmembers are held 

